Yield
by DispatchesFromDistrict7
Summary: Peeta is considering taking things to the next step when Katniss makes a decision that tests their relationship as it hasn't been before. He has to figure out how to reach her so that she sees they aren't alone; they are partners. Prequel to The Tasting Room in the Winemaker!Katniss universe. Modern AU. Triggers: Lots of wine. Written for S2SL
1. Monday

**Monday**

_Finish: the taste and feel that a wine leaves in the mouth after swallowing. Some wines disappear immediately while others linger._

Peeta's eyes fluttered open as he felt the sun hit his face. Disoriented, he tensed when he thought that he had slept through his alarm. But then he remembered it was Monday, the one day during the week he allowed himself to sleep in a little after a busy weekend at work. Katniss was still sound asleep nestled against him, her bare ass fitting snugly against his morning erection.

Peeta moved her hair away from her neck allowing him access to nibble at that one spot, where her neck joined her shoulder, the spot that drove her crazy. He smiled to himself when he felt her breath pause then pick up. He buried his nose into her tangled waves, inhaling the subtle scent of lavender from her shampoo as he moved his hand to palm her soft breast. She fit perfectly into his hand. As he stroked his thumb against her nipple, it puckered in response before he gently pinched it.

Katniss began to rock back up against him, the cleft of her ass caressing his hard cock. His hand moved down to press his calloused palm against the soft skin of her belly. He admired the contrast between their skin tones, his freckled fairness against the smooth olive of hers, before snaking his hand down between her thighs. His fingers glided through her short crop of curls to her slit where he stroked through her folds, gathering her moisture before finding her nub. She cried out in pleasure when he kissed the spot on her neck once again as he began circling her little bundle of nerves.

Katniss protested when Peeta moved his fingers away, but was silenced when he kissed her jaw and slipped a finger inside her. She tilted her pelvis so that her ass rubbed enticingly against him as she ground her mound against his hand. He pulled her even closer to him to press up against her as the urgency built within him.

Peeta withdrew his hand and brought his finger to her lips, brushing the slick digit against them. She took his finger into her mouth, sucking and twirling her tongue to lick off her own arousal. Peeta groaned before whispering against her ear, "Katniss, I need to be inside you…"

She nodded and raised her leg to give him better access. Peeta slid into her from behind and paused. Katniss lowered her leg to create an even snugger fit, encasing him in her slick warmth. He had to catch his breath to calm himself down. Peeta withdrew a bit then rocked back into her. "Baby, you feel so fucking amazing."

When Peeta was fully inside her once again, Katniss panted, "Yes, right there."

He pulled back again before thrusting forward, a moan escaping her lips as the head of his cock hit a spot deep within.

"You like that, don't you?" he whispered.

"Yes." She ground up against him.

It was not long until they found a steady rhythm and Katniss moaned, "Harder," as she reached down and started rubbing her clit. He began thrusting faster, staying deep inside, building the pressure from within. Peeta felt her flutter against him and she cried out, allowing him to finally let go a few moments later.

Afterwards, Peeta turned her onto her back and gave her a slow kiss. Her quicksilver eyes watched him as he lifted his head. She gave him shy smile and bit her lower lip, a habit she had when she felt a little self-conscious. It was endearing and he was pretty sure he knew what she was about to say.

"Let me go clean up. I'll be right back."

Peeta settled against the pillows as she eased from the bed and sashayed into the bathroom. He loved that woman so much. Maybe it was time to marry her. It wasn't the first time he'd thought about asking her, but it was on his mind more often than not as of late.

It popped into his brain at the oddest times. He thought about it when he saw her talking to one of the field hands as they examined the condition of a vine. He watched her as she carefully listened, respecting her worker's experience and opinion before making a decision. Then again, just the other day, the thought nagged when she helped him unload his truck full of baking supplies into the pantry. He didn't even have to ask when she organized the flours in alphabetical order, as he liked. And every time she took her bottom lip between her teeth and gave him her shy smile, he was tempted. Maybe it was time to ask her.

Hearing a noise, Peeta looked over towards the bathroom door and saw Katniss leaning against the frame watching him.

"What is that little smile about?" she asked, which caused him to break out into a full grin.

"You're here and I'm just happy."

Katniss shook her head. "I'm glad I have today off. If we had to work and Uncle Haymitch saw my neck we'd hear about it all day."

She piled her hair on top of her head and turned to give him a better view. He took in the sight of her and spotted the place where her long delicate neck met her shoulder, reddened from the scruff of his day old beard stubble. His eyes traveled south to first admire her small, pert breasts jutting out from her chest, then slim waist, and down to her slender legs.

He laughed and patted the bed. "You know you love it. Now woman, get your butt back in this bed."

Releasing her hair, it tumbled into waves across her shoulders and her hips swayed as she sauntered toward the bed. She settled down, pressing the length of her body against his side, tucking her head into his shoulder.

Peeta ran his hand up and down the curvature of her spine as she released a contented sigh. Yes, it was time he asked her.


	2. Tuesday

**Tuesday**

_Ullage: the space between the wine and the top of a wine bottle. As a wine ages, the space of ullage will increase as the wine gradually evaporates and seeps through the cork. _

"I'm really looking forward to working with your family, Mr. Grandin," Peeta said as he shook the man's hand.

"Don't make me say this again. Call me Gloss."

"I won't, _Gloss_," chuckled Peeta. "I'll drop off samples for you to test out in your tasting room on Friday morning between 9 and 10."

"Great, great. I'll be out that morning, but Cashmere should be here to receive them."

"I'm sure we can find something that showcases your wines to perfection. I'll see you on Friday."

Peeta walked out of the tasting room satisfied. He had been trying to get a meeting with Gabriel Ross "Gloss" Grandin for a couple months now, but the man never returned his calls. Peeta wasn't surprised, since he was building a baking business that was still fairly unknown. He had only now started gaining traction through acquiring several new customers, whereas Grandin Valley Vintners was one of the oldest family run wineries in the area and was held in very high regard. Gloss and Cashmere probably fielded more than their fair share of calls from potential suppliers.

Peeta had considered it his lucky day last week when he was at Jo's. He had stopped in to grab one of the wine bar's famous BLT sandwiches, for which he supplied the bread, when he realized Gloss was sitting a few seats down the bar from him complaining about his flaky bread supplier.

Johanna "Jo" Mason had nodded sympathetically and then, as smooth as could be, suggested that she introduce him to her supplier. Gloss took the bait and Johanna handed him one of Peeta's cards that she kept behind the bar. When the call came in from Gloss later that afternoon, he had been ready to make his pitch. If he landed the Grandin account, he could finally consider moving out of the kitchen in his house and into a commercial space.

He couldn't wait to get home to share the news with Katniss, but now that his sales meeting was over, he had some errands to run in downtown Santa Maria. Peeta stopped by the post office and then proceeded onto the bank. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a jewelry display in one of the antique shops that mostly catered to affluent tourists. He paused in front of the window and studied the rings on display. Compelled, he entered the little store.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the store. Most of the lighting was provided by the front window or the numerous tiffany lamps placed throughout, the light filtered by the colorful stained glass shades. The store showcased craftsman and mission furniture. China patterns were on display along the back wall. Antique bric-a-brac covered tables.

Not seeing anyone, he called out, "Hello?"

"Coming," a voice called from behind a curtained off doorway on the back wall.

An older woman with long frizzy gray hair and dressed like a sixties flower child in a long flowing tie-dyed caftan, walked out of the back room. "Welcome, I'm Sae. What can I do you for?"

Peeta shook his head as he reconciled the straightforward southern twang that didn't fit the picture of the woman he was seeing. "Oh, I would like to look at the rings in your window, please."

"Sonny, come over to the counter."

Peeta followed her. After she placed a small piece of velvet that she retrieved from a drawer next to the cash register on the counter, she reached with her gnarly hand into the window display and retrieved the rings. She placed them carefully on the rich navy colored cloth without saying a word. She just waited.

Peeta closely inspected the two rings. One was an art deco sapphire bracketed by diamonds, the other a woven band featuring a ruby solitaire. "These are beautiful, but not exactly what I'm looking for."

"So is this a gift for your girl or for your mama?"

Peeta snorted at the thought of giving his mother a ring. "Definitely my girl. Can you keep a secret?" He winked a Sae.

"Don't worry about me. My mind is a sieve. As soon as something enters, it pours back out unless I write it down and I promise not to do that." Sae smiled.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me, but she isn't the type to want a diamond or anything too modern. If I asked her she'd probably say skip the ring, it's not practical, but I want to give her something special."

"I may have exactly what you are looking for in my back room. It came in yesterday. You wait here."

Sae shuffled to the back room. A few minutes later, she emerged from behind the curtain and walked back to the counter, placing a ring on the velvet.

Peeta picked it up and examined the detail. The styling placed the ring in the art nouveau period. Instead of the traditional solitaire, it featured two round cut gems, a brilliant emerald and a diamond side-by-side. The yellow gold band would wrap around her finger and turn into diamond swirls that bracketed the larger gemstones. This ring was the one.

"Katniss will love this. I'll take it."

"Sonny, don't you want to know the price?"

"It doesn't matter. Nothing could be more perfect," escaped his lips before he could think better of it. He sighed with relief when Sae quoted a price within his budget.

After paying for the ring, Peeta tucked it away in his jacket pocket. He patted it to make sure it was secure as he said goodbye to the shop's owner and headed to his next destination.

A little over an hour later, Peeta arrived home. From the silence that greeted him, he immediately determined that Katniss was not in the house, which was not surprising since it was the middle of the day. She could be out in the vineyards or checking the newly bottled wine in the barn.

He snuck up to their room and withdrew the ring from his jacket. He went to his closet and pulled out the box that stored his dress shoes, which he rarely ever wore. He carefully tucked the velvet box inside, knowing Katniss would never accidentally find it there.

With the task accomplished, he decided to go in search of Katniss to tell her about his meeting with Gloss Grandin. A bounce in his step, he headed out toward to the barn.

The "barn" wasn't really a barn. The only thing the structure had in common with barns was the bright red exterior and white trim, which most people associated with that type of building. The barn was a state of the art winemaking facility that was built atop a wine cave. The roof was covered in solar panels, providing much of the energy needs for the facility, and just a few months ago, Katniss finished implementing a project that allowed the winery to recycle its wastewater for field irrigation. The project was an environmental investment that would ultimately save the winery money.

Peeta was immensely proud of everything Katniss had accomplished since taking over the operations of the vineyards and winery from her Uncle Haymitch. That combined with the change to biodynamic practices, which she studied when they lived in Burgundy, were going to pay off. He could already taste the difference every time they sampled a barrel.

Peeta entered through a side door of the barn into a large brightly lit room that housed the wine press, juice tanks, and several stainless steel fermentation vats. The room was silent which wasn't unusual for this time in the afternoon. The cement floor was a bit wet, so one of the workers, now probably in the vineyard, must have power washed the floor recently.

Since there was no sign of Katniss, he walked across the room and exited through another door that led into the darkened bottling room. Peeta could see a ray of light from the doorway on the far side, which meant that someone was in the warehouse. Smiling, he flipped the switch so that he could make his way around the equipment to the door.

Upon entering the warehouse, it was eerily silent. His footsteps echoed as he walked through the cavernous space that held cases of bottled wine. The place appeared to be vacant, but it was unlike Katniss to leave the lights on. He looked across the room and noticed a pile of broken glass next to one of the far walls.

As he approached the shattered bottles, he realized the wall was wet, in what looked like a splash pattern. His pace quickened as his concern grew, worried that perhaps an employee had become disgruntled for some reason. He wished he knew where Katniss was.

When he reached the wall, he turned around and scanned the room. That was when he spotted her. Directly across from the mess, in between two shelf installations, sat Katniss. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, which were drawn up tight against her chest; her head bowed, hiding her face.

With his heart in his throat, Peeta rushed to her side. "Katniss, what happened? Are you hurt?"

She didn't respond. She just rocked in place.

He sat down in front of her, since there wasn't room for him to slide in beside her. He gently touched one of her arms and said, "Honey, are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"

Katniss shook her head against her knees, and Peeta let out a sigh of relief. He was still worried, but at least she was physically unharmed. Curious as to what had brought this on, he brushed his hand over the top of her head. After a few minutes, he finally coaxed her to look at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy from crying.

"Can you please tell me what happened? Who threw the wine against the wall?"

Katniss' face hardened as she wiped away all emotion. She squared her shoulders and said, "I did."

Confused, Peeta shook his head. "Why?"

"Take a fucking look around you. It's brown. Every last bit of it. Ruined."

Taken aback by the harshness in her voice, he let go of his hold on her arm and looked around. They were surrounded by open cases of wine, all of Fletcher's Points first release of the Sapwood Chardonnay, a wine made as it was in Chablis, never touching an oak barrel.

"That can't be true. I know how hard you've worked on this wine. Last time we tasted it—"

Suddenly, Katniss pulled herself up to a stand and brushed her hands off on her thighs. As Peeta stood, she brushed by him and grabbed a bottle before she pulled out a simple waiter's corkscrew. "You don't believe me? Take a look for yourself," she said as she pulled out the cork and shoved the bottle at him.

Peeta blinked as he grabbed hold of the bottle, careful not to drop it. "Honey. I believe you, but I just can't believe that this happened." He held up the bottle to look at it through one of the overhead lights. It did look like it had turned. He poured a little out into his palm and saw that it was the color of brandy. "I just can't believe it."

"Well believe it!" Katniss grabbed the bottle and flung it at the wall across the room where it shattered.

Peeta pulled out a bottle from another case and saw that it too was brown. He pulled out the corkscrew he kept on his keychain and opened it. He took a swig. He was surprised. "This tastes fine."

It didn't just taste fine; it was everything they could have hoped it to be. Crisp, green apple like acidity. He took another taste and rolled it around his mouth. It held a sweet tartness with layers of pears and citrus, complimented by notes of minerality. The wine tasted as good as any of the Premier Cru wines that they had tasted while living in Burgundy.

"It more than tastes fine. It's exactly what I planned, but it's brown," Katniss agreed as she tried to grab the bottle from him. He pulled it away, not allowing her to use it to take out her rage.

Peeta set down the bottle and approached her. "Are we sure it's ruined? Can we fix this?" He reached out to touch her arm and she batted his arm away.

Katniss turned to face the mess against the wall. "There is no _we_ here. This is my family's winery and all my plans are now through. I bet everything on this."

Peeta took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, reminding himself that she was upset. He ground out, "_We_ will figure this out."

"No we won't. I bet next year's production grapes on this working. You know I purchased these grapes from Coriolanus Vineyards. I was counting on this release to pay off the note when it became due to the bank. Now I'm going to have to sell next year's best grapes to cover it." She looked down at another open case and grabbed two more bottles of wine, chucking them against the wall. "This is my fuck up. I had the audacity to think I could turn my family's mediocre winery into something special. That we could make fine wines ourselves instead of selling the bulk of our grapes to other producers." She picked up another bottle and tossed it. "Now I'll be the laughing stock of the valley."

Peeta walked up behind her and settled a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off again and hissed, "Don't touch me." She threw another bottle.

He took a step back and tried to shake off the hurt from her rejecting his comfort. "Katniss throwing these bottles of wine isn't helping."

She looked at him with dead eyes. Coldly she said, "What else are they good for?"

Peeta felt an ache in his chest. He couldn't watch anymore, so he walked out.

Later that night, they went through the motions. He fixed dinner. Katniss picked at her food. They didn't talk. The silence between them allowed him to think.

It just didn't make sense for the wine to look oxidized but not taste like it was. There had to be a way to fix it. Maybe some sort of filter?

They both turned into bed around ten. Katniss clung to her side of the bed, unwilling to touch him or lean on him for support. While he was not surprised by her actions, it still hurt. Remnants of Katniss' childhood had recently come back to haunt her, so she took a sleeping pill and had quickly nodded off afterwards.

As he listened to her steady breathing, Peeta lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. How could a day that had started so well end so terribly? He never did tell her about his news regarding Grandin. He tried not to think about what was secretly tucked away in his shoebox. As the clock ticked by, his mind continued to worry about what had happened to the wine.

Shortly after midnight, he eased himself out of bed, grabbed his phone and headed down to the kitchen. After making himself a mug of warm milk with honey and spices, he sat down at the kitchen table. Picking up his phone, he dialed.

After the fourth ring, someone picked up.

"Why are you calling me this bloody early or should I say late? Shouldn't we both be making love to our wives?" the voice answered.

"Finnick. She's not my wife yet and it's not that early there. It's 8:30. I thought you used to be a day trader."

"That's the key old chap, used to be. No, I grow grapes, make beautiful wines, and love my gorgeous wife. Speaking of that, when are you going to finally pop the question?"

Peeta heard a giggle in the background and winced. He must have interrupted something. "I'm working on it." With a heavy sigh he admitted, "I actually bought a ring."

Finnick's voice turned serious when he said, "You don't sound excited."

"I am. It's just been a rough day."

"So I know you usually wouldn't call me in the middle of your night for nothing. Is Katniss okay?"

Peeta sighed. "I don't know. We discovered that all the Sapwood Chardonnay has turned brown."

"All of it? How did it all oxidize?" Finnick inquired puzzled.

"That's just it. I'm not sure it's oxidized. It tastes fine."

He's met with silence on the other end of the line.

"Finnick, are you still there?"

"Yes. Just thinking. This just sounds odd. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"In the morning, baking in preparation for the weekend. Afterwards, I'm not sure. Why?" Peeta asked.

"I think you should go see an old family friend of my grandmothers. Woof has a winery in the Sta. Rita Hills."

"I could probably do that. Can you email me his information?" Peeta asked.

"Sure thing. Why don't you try to get some sleep, chap?"

"I will. Now go take care of your wife."

"Will do."

Peeta hung up the phone and finished the rest of his milk. Not wanting to disturb Katniss, he made his way to the living room and fell asleep on the couch.


	3. Wednesday

**Wednesday**

_Varietal: term used to describe wines made totally or predominantly from a single variety of grape._

Peeta's eyes snapped open when he heard his phone chirp his alarm. He hit a button that would only give him a momentary reprieve as he tried to orient himself in the dark. He had a terrible crick in his neck. Obviously, he had chosen not to sleep his bed. Then he remembered.

He ran a hand over his face and reached for his phone. 4:05 am. He sighed. There were four more minutes of snooze left. He had lived on less than four hours sleep before. He sat up on the couch and forced his eyes to stay open. When his phone went off the second time, he instantly silenced the alarm, stood, and shuffled to the stairs. He did his best to walk quietly up the stairs, but it seemed like he hit every single squeaky board on the way up. When he arrived at their bedroom, he eased open the door and slipped inside.

Peeta walked over to the bed and looked down upon Katniss with concern. Her brow was smooth, her mouth relaxed. Worry no longer evident. He knew that it would not last. She would soon wake and she would blame herself. He flexed his hand and reached forward to brush a bit of hair off her face before leaning forward to brush a kiss against her forehead. When he pulled away, she stirred for a moment before settling back down to sleep.

Peeta squared his shoulders with renewed determination. He would help her figure this out. They were in this together. He grabbed the clothes he had set out the night before and headed to the bathroom to clean up.

A few hours later, Peeta was taking out the first loaves of peasant bread from the oven for their Thursday morning deliveries. These particular loaves sliced nicer after sitting for a day.

"Good Morning, boss!" chirped Delly as she let herself in the backdoor and skipped into his kitchen, her blonde ponytail bouncing.

Peeta and Delly were best friends since they were in diapers. A year ago, after she broke up with her girlfriend, she came out to visit and never left. She was now his baking assistant and helped with deliveries.

"Morning, Delly!" Peeta turned to smile at her. "I see you finally decided to go for it."

Delly chuckled. "Yeah. I thought about it long enough." Black outlines for a new tattoo covered her forearm, extending her half sleeve to a full sleeve. "Thanks, again for providing the art."

Peeta had designed both tattoos for her, illustrating scenes from her favorite childhood books. "No problem. Can you get the blue-cheese discs going?"

"Sure, thing."

Wednesday was bake ahead day. They took care of preparing all the orders that could or needed to be baked one to two days before the Thursday and Friday deliveries. At around ten in the morning, the last of the bread came out of the main oven. When Peeta started the business a year ago, they had a secondary oven installed, which Delly was using to bake various types of cheese discs and savory twists.

Peeta had still not heard Katniss stir, which was not a good sign. Likely, she was buried underneath the covers awake, crippled by self-doubt and blame.

"I'm going to go check my email," Peeta said as he exited the kitchen.

He booted up his laptop and saw an email message from Finnick, who had contacted Woof on Peeta's behalf a couple hours earlier. Finnick said Woof would be happy to meet with him and just to bring a couple bottles of the wine.

Peeta shook his head at the thought of his friend, who pretended to now live the relatively laid back life of a French winemaker – not that there was anything laid back about winemaking – but the ever efficient "get things done" side still came out despite no longer being a "take no prisoners London-based investment banker." When there was a problem, Finnick showed no hesitation in jumping in with both feet to help determine the best, and often most profitable, solution.

Peeta printed off the directions attached to the email, folded them up, and stuck them in the back pocket of his jeans.

When he went back upstairs to check on Katniss, she was awake. She was on her side and stared out the open window, watching the fluttering of the curtains from the slight breeze outside. Peeta sat down beside her and ran his hand up and down her back.

"Katniss?"

She continued to stare.

"Katniss, can you look at me?"

After a moment, she turned her head toward him.

"How are you doing?"

Katniss rolled her eyes. The show of spirit was a good sign. It meant that she hadn't completely checked out and there was hope that she would get out of bed today.

"Okay, stupid question." He smiled back at her. "I have to go run an errand," he said since he didn't want to get her hopes up .I'll be gone a few hours or so. When I get back we can talk about what to do."

Katniss turned her head away to stare out the window again. Peeta shook his head. He hated when she shut him out. She didn't do this often, usually only when something reminded her about her parents – or Prim. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

He whispered, "I love you. We will figure this out."

After grabbing his truck keys off the dresser, he headed back down to the kitchen. Delly was taking out the last batch of cheddar cheese straws from the oven when he entered.

"Hey, Del. Do you want to go out to Sta. Rita Hills with me today? I need to go talk to someone."

"I've got nothing else planned."

"Great. Meet me out by my truck in ten."

Peeta headed out to the barn. When he reached the warehouse, he noticed that someone had cleaned up yesterday's mess. The glass had been swept away. The wall washed. The open cases had been pulled over to the side. He pulled out two bottles and headed to his truck where Delly was leaning against it, waiting.

They both climbed in the cab and Peeta settled the brown bottles between them before handing her the directions. Delly's jaw dropped when she caught sight of the discolored wine. He started the engine and drove down the dusty, gravel road that lead to Highway 101.

Along the way, he explained to Delly that despite the fact the wine resembled the brown color of crap, it still had the perfect balance of fruit and minerality, and that he hoped the person they were going to visit might have some insight.

Less than an hour later, they turned up a dirt road that led to the Calvert Winery. Finnick's email said to drive past the main production building on the left and up to the main house, which would be on the right. After finding a spot to park, they approached the porch and were about to knock when they heard a voice.

"You must be Finnick's friend."

Peeta looked over and saw an old man sitting in a rocking chair. Woof Calvert, he assumed.

"Yes, sir."

The old man held up a finger. "One moment." With shaky hands, he struggled but finally managed to press pause on his iPhone and pulled out a pair of ear buds. "A present from my son – it's so darn finicky – if I'm not careful, instead of hitting pause I hit forward or back and that's no way to listen to Turandot."

The reference was lost on Peeta as he was more a rock fan, but he nodded in agreement. "Thanks for seeing us today."

"Oh anything for a friend of Mags' boy. Finnick explained a bit. Let me see a bottle."

Delly handed one to Woof, and the old man held it up to the light. "Hmmmm. You say it tastes fine?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Lucky for you, I have a friend visiting who might have some idea as to what is happening here. He's out in one of the vineyards with my boy, Dalton. Let's go find them. Leave the bottles here." He waved at a small table that sat in the shade.

Peeta and Delly followed Woof off the porch to a motorized cart. Ten minutes later, they were walking through one of the winery's upper vineyards where they found Dalton, definitely not a boy but a middle-aged man whose face had seen one too many days of sun. Another man was with him, inspecting and pruning vines.

"Peeta and Delly, this is my son Dalton and my friend Beetee. Beetee teaches viticulture at UC Davis."

Peeta and Delly shook both men's hands.

"So, Woof said you are having problems with your chardonnay?" Beetee asked.

"Yes. It turned brown," Peeta answered.

Beetee pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said, "Well it sounds like it's oxidized. I bet when you taste it you detect a metallic quality –"

Peeta interrupted, "That's just it. It doesn't taste oxidized. I've tasted oxidized wines and this wine tastes as good as any Premier Cru Chablis I've had when living in France."

A puzzled appearance crossed Beetee's face, and then his eyes lit up. "Did you bring this wine?"

Delly piped up, "We left it at the house."

"Well let's go see it," Beetee suggested.

Once they arrive back on the porch, Dalton mumbled that he'd go fetch some tasting glasses. Peeta handed one of the bottles to Beetee who examined it in the sunlight as Peeta pulled out the corkscrew on his keychain and opened the other bottle.

Dalton came out with a few glasses a moment later and Peeta poured three tastings for Beetee and the Calverts. The men observed the darkened color. A Chablis style wine characteristically should have been a greenish yellow in color. The men swirled their glasses to develop the bouquet and took a sniff.

"It smells fine," Dalton said.

Woof and Beetee nodded. They then took a sip, rolling the liquid along their tongues, chewing it.

Beetee started laughing. "I've heard of this, but it's the first time I've ever actually seen it happen. You have nothing to worry about. This wine is going to be fine. In fact just by the taste of it, I think this will be an award winner."

"But it's brown," Peeta said. "Judges will notice that."

Beetee shook his head. "Only for another day or so. The best chardonnays are made using a reductionist technique that excludes as much oxygen as possible after fermentation. It's nearly impossible to eliminate oxygen completely between fermentation and bottling, but if you do then the wine will turn brown, as there is a natural browning enzyme in white wine. This enzyme is neutralized when it encounters the tiniest bit of oxygen during the bottling process. Apparently, you were too careful. This wine was made too perfect. Since this is bottled with a cork and not a screw cap it should go away in a few days."

Grins broke out on both Delly's and Peeta's faces.

"This is great news! I have to get back to tell Katniss. Thank you so much." Peeta shook each man's hands and added, "You can keep that other bottle."

As they approached the truck Delly said, "Let me drive. You call Katniss."

During the forty-five minute drive back to Fletcher's Point, Peeta repeatedly tried to call Katniss but she didn't pick up. It worried him, but he'd be home soon.

When they pulled up in front of his home, he said goodbye to Delly and ran inside. After making sure Katniss wasn't anywhere in the house, he headed to the barn. He ran through the rooms looking for her. When he arrived at the warehouse he was forced to stop as he took in the bare floor and shelving where the first release of the Sapwood Chardonnay had been stored.

The racks were now empty.

"Oh, Katniss. What have you done?" he whispered.

As he stumbled back out of the barn, he ran into a hand who directed him to the Heartwood vineyard on the western side of the estate to look for Katniss. Peeta hopped back into his truck drove out to the vineyard. He found her twenty minutes later wandering the rows, stopping every few feet to prune.

She acknowledged his presence with a hollow, "Hello, Peeta."

Katniss bent forward with her pruning shears and snipped off a bit of vine and continued, "It was a nice dream wasn't it. I'll have to sell these grapes to another producer next year."

"Katniss, look at me."

She turned to him and gave him a blank expression.

"Where is the Sapwood?"

Katniss shrugged. "I couldn't bear to look at it anymore. I had it taken to the dump. I made the arrangements yesterday afternoon."

"Without talking to me?" he said harshly as he felt his temper rise. He took a deep breath to try to calm down. She couldn't continue to make these unilateral decisions without him if they were going to make it in the long run.

"Peeta it was ruined."

"No it wasn't. I just spent this morning talking to an expert from UC Davis who was out in the Sta. Rita Hills."

"Peeta it turned brown."

"It was only brown because you had made it _too_ perfect. You had excluded oxygen completely in the bottling process. A couple more days in the bottle and oxygen that came through the cork would have turned it back."

A look of relief then horror crossed Katniss face. "What have I done?" She reached toward him, but he brushed her off. "Peeta, I'm so sorry."

He felt for her but he was so frustrated over her choice to not include him in this decision. He needed some space. He ground out, "We'll figure it out. We can start again. But right now I need some space."

Peeta turned around without another word and left her in _her_ vineyard.


	4. Thursday

**Thursday**

_Yield_

_1. (verb) Give way to arguments, demand, pressure._

_2. (noun) A measure of the amount of grapes or wine produced per unit surface of vineyard._

Peeta reached for his phone and tucked it close to his body to prevent the light from spilling out and disturbing Katniss. He slid his finger over the screen and entered his passcode. Going into his alarm settings, he turned it off.

It was 3:58 am and he hadn't caught more than twenty minutes of sleep all night. As far as he could tell, Katniss hadn't had much more, but her breathing was finally even so he didn't want to disturb her. He rolled onto his back and scrubbed a hand over his face. If last night was any indication, today was going to be a very long day.

After leaving Katniss in the vineyard yesterday, Peeta had gone back to the house and shut himself away in the office with a slam of the door. With a swing of his arm, he had knocked a lamp sitting on the desk across the room where it shattered on the floor. Spleen vented, he had grabbed the small dustpan they stored in the closet and cleaned up the mess. Afterward, he had caught up on paperwork for the baking business and planned the sample order for Grandin, before grabbing his sketchpad and charcoals off the shelf and settling into the small sofa.

Peeta had lost track of the time. He hadn't realized how long he'd been drawing until he heard a gentle knock on the door and the quiet call to dinner from Katniss. She hadn't attempted to enter the room, respecting his request for space. Now aware of the time, he had looked down to study his work. He'd drawn a tree, bare of leaves but blowing in the wind. From one branch hung a noose and the shadow of a body that had once hung there. A gale whipped around the tree. Clouds wove together to form stormy eyes. Katniss.

The dark rendering had released some of his pent up anger, but he was still frustrated as hell with the woman. All he had wanted to do was help and now he wasn't sure he could. She had made him feel impotent. He had known that he needed to talk to her about this, but he hadn't been able to do it that night.

When he had gone done to dinner, Katniss was quietly sitting at the table, forcing herself to eat a bowl of soup. She had looked up when he entered the room and stood, hurrying over to the sideboard to dish him up a bowl and cut off a slice of the grainy bread he'd baked earlier that day. She brought it to the table and Peeta joined her. They ate. A tense silence filled the void of their normal conversation. Every so often Katniss would look up from her bowl; her expression had said that she wanted to say something but no words had poured forth. Peeta still didn't know what he had wanted to say. After dinner, Katniss had washed the dishes while he dried.

As he had put away the last plate, she mumbled, "I'm going to see Coin tomorrow. It won't be long until everyone in the Valley knows about what happened. Hopefully I can broker a deal for next year's grapes before it gets out." Her voice had cracked at "next years."

As frustrated as he was with her, he knew she was crushed. He had pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead as she clung to his back. He heard her hiccough as she let go of the tension she'd held throughout dinner. He had picked her up and carried her into the living room, where after settling her against him on the couch, he held her as she cried. He had murmured reassurances, "It's going to be alright," and, "We'll start over." He hoped he was telling the truth as he stroked her back.

When she had finally quieted, he suggested they go to bed. After they had completely their nightly routines, they crawled under the covers. Normally Katniss tucked herself into his shoulder and they slept entwined, but last night she had again clung to her side of the bed. He spent most of the night on his back, staring up at the ceiling, wishing he could somehow bridge the gulf that lay between them. No longer crying, she was back to blaming herself and wouldn't welcome him.

Now it was ten after four in the morning and he really needed to get up. He eased out of the bed, grabbed his change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

A couple of hours later, Delly entered the kitchen and found Peeta elbow deep in dough, not unusual for a Thursday morning. While some wineries were open six or seven days a week, most were either open on Thursday or Friday through the weekend. Peeta said, "Hello" and turned back to his task of forming baguettes, while Delly donned an apron and then referred to the list, which he had written down on a whiteboard in the corner. Everything denoted with a "D" was for Delly to prepare.

They worked together silently for an hour before Delly asked, "So what happened?"

Peeta stopped what he was doing and turned to his friend. He took one look at Delly and knew that despite his best efforts, he hadn't fooled her. She was facing him, arms akimbo, waiting for an answer.

"We were too late. Katniss dumped the wine."

"Oh, Peeta."

"It will be okay. We just have to start again." His eyes drifted away and he shook his head. "Why don't I take over those mini-cheesecakes so you can start preparing the first deliveries?"

She nodded and gave Peeta a tight smile. "Okay."

A little after nine, Delly left with the first deliveries. Peeta prepared the second round of deliveries before climbing the stairs to check on Katniss. He found her awake and she'd apparently decided to clean out the closet because half of her clothes were strewn across the room. She was concentrating on two different blouses that she'd laid across the bed, one dusty rose, the other a yellow that reminded him of candlelight.

Not wanting to scare her, he knocked on the open door. "Whatcha doing?"

Katniss turned to him and squared her shoulders. "I can't decide what to wear?"

"I always liked the yellow. It makes your skin glow like candlelight."

Katniss gave him a curt nod and tossed the rose blouse onto a pile of discarded clothes. She grabbed the yellow blouse and hung it with a woven brown and plum pencil skirt on the back of the master bathroom door. "I was able to get a lunch meeting with Alma. I need to get ready."

"Okay, Katniss. I'll be downstairs."

Peeta left their room. He walked down the hall and rubbed the back of his neck. Shoulders slumped, he made his way down the stairs and worked on prepping for Friday.

When Delly returned, he helped her reload the van for the next deliveries. As they were finishing up, Katniss walked outside.

"Wish me luck!" Katniss said with a false bravado.

"May the odds be in your favor," Delly responded as Peeta walked up to Katniss.

He brushed a kiss against her forehead and murmured, "I believe in you. It's just one more year."

She smiled tightly and blinked away the water that gathered in her eyes. She then wiped all expression from her face. "I need to get going."

He watched her drive off.

"Hey, Peeta. Most of this delivery is for Jo's, why don't you come with me. We can have lunch." He was about to protest when Delly grabbed his arm. "You need to get out of here. Come on."

There were heading down the road minutes later. They made two small deliveries on their way into Santa Maria before they finally reached Jo's. The proprietor greeted them when they knocked on the door. "Hello, Blondie. I hope you remembered that marbled rye that I told Delly I wanted to try."

"Of course. We brought it." Delly haughtily replied.

"Hey, Jo." Peeta said back.

"I need to get back up front. You guys know what to do. I hope you're staying for lunch."

"Yes," Delly replied.

"Great. I'll make you up the special."

Peeta and Delly efficiently unloaded the van then walked to the front of the restaurant and entered. They made their way to the bar and saw that Katniss' uncle was sitting there, drinking a glass of white wine.

"Hey, Haymitch. Isn't it a little early?"

"Boy, it's never too early for a good glass of wine."

At that moment, Jo came out with two plates of the special. Ham and brie on some of Peeta's focaccia bread. "Is your honey mustard on this?" Peeta asked.

"Not this time. I mixed a bit of fig spread with Dijon. Try it."

"It's delicious, Peeta." Delly mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Johanna, why don't you pour our friends here a couple glasses of this wine?" Haymitch suggested as he raised the glass.

Jo gave him a smirk and a wink before pulling out two glasses from behind the bar.

"Jo, I just want some water," Peeta said.

She shook her head as she grabbed a bottle wrapped in a cloth towel and poured two glasses. "Peeta, you shouldn't say no to the man who is practically your uncle."

As Johanna placed the glasses in front of him and Delly, he replied, "Well, he'll probably end up drinking this glass anyway. I've tasted enough wine lately."

He began digging into his sandwich and watched the interaction between Jo and Haymitch. There was something going on here that he didn't understand. They normally flirted but the amount of glances they were exchanging with each other before looking at him was starting to make him uncomfortable. He was so preoccupied with watching Jo and Haymitch that he paid no attention to Delly until he heard her gasp.

Peeta turned to her as she swirled her glass and brought it back to her lips. She chewed the wine, swallowed, and a large grin spread across her face. She glanced over at Jo and Haymitch before saying, "Peeta, you really must taste this wine."

"I've already said that I'm not interested."

"But, Peeta this is the best chardonnay I've ever tasted."

Peeta rolled his eyes at the hyperbole and picked up the glass. "Fine." He swirled it and took a sip and his eyes widened.

He carefully swirled it again, inhaling the bouquet before carefully taking in another small sip, which he rolled along his tongue.

"How?" he asked, afraid to believe.

"I was visiting Jo yesterday afternoon when a couple guys dropped by," Haymitch started.

"They were eating lunch at the bar," continued Johanna, "when they mentioned they had a shipment of wine that they were going to take to the dump, but they were wondering if there was someplace they could discard the wine and recycle the bottles. Make a bit more money."

"Jo and I went out to look at the wine and recognized the labels. As we inspected the shipment, we also saw that the wine was beginning to change color. Some were brown and some were clear. I suggested to Jo that she take the whole shipment off their hands for $500."

"Which I did," Jo added.

"But, Haymitch, how could you know?"

"Boy, I've been in the winemaking business a long time. I may not have my niece's nose for fine wine but I'm old enough to remember 1976, which neither you nor my niece would. Same thing happened to a winery from Napa, but that wine went on to win at a Franco-American wine competition in honor of the bicentennial. It made Time magazine. That's when they started taking California wine seriously. There's a bottle of it still in the Smithsonian."

"Oh my god, I have to stop Katniss."

Peeta fished his cell phone out of his pocket and dropped it. Only the Otter case saved it from shattering against the cement floor of the café. He dialed Katniss. It rang several times and no one picked up. He hung up and dialed again. The third time he dialed Katniss finally answered.

"Peeta, I'm in a meeting."

"Stop. You haven't signed anything, have you?"

"No, we were about to start discussing," she answered.

"Good, because right now I'm staring at a glass of pale yellow, perfectly clear, wonderfully balanced Fletcher's Point first release of Sapwood Chardonnay."

"Peeta, that's not funny," Katniss said flatly.

"It's no joke. Your Uncle and Jo intercepted the shipment yesterday. It's all here. Every case, less one bottle that Jo opened today."

"What?" she asked unbelieving.

"You heard me." He smiled through the phone.

"Peeta, I have to go and end this meeting. Thank Jo and Haymitch. I'll be there shortly."

"Okay, Katniss." He ended the call.

Thirty minutes later Katniss walked through the doors. She laughed and cried. She hugged her Uncle and Jo. The story was retold once more, and Peeta watched her as Haymitch and Jo recalled the tale. He felt relieved that it had all worked out, and he pushed back the annoyance he felt creeping up over how the whole situation developed in the first place. Now was the time to celebrate. The talk they needed to have could wait.

They returned home a few hours later and said goodbye to Delly as she climbed into the beater 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit that she bought for $500 when she decided to stay in Santa Maria. Somehow, the car continued to keep running, most likely because of Thom, the first person Delly had started seeing seriously since she broke up with Bristel last year.

Peeta and Katniss waved as she drove away. As they entered the house, Peeta mumbled, "I'm going to go take a shower and then I need to make some phone calls."

"Okay. I'll start something for dinner," Katniss responded.

As he trekked up the stairs, Peeta shook his head. He couldn't avoid the conversation forever.

When the pulsating stream of steaming water hit his back, the tension he'd been holding in began to let go. He stood with his neck bowed and a hand resting on the back wall as the water worked the muscles between his shoulder blades. He lost track of time, and when the water began to turn cold, he quickly soaped up and washed away the sweat and grime.

Stepping out of the shower, he briskly dried off and then walked naked into their bedroom. All of Katniss' clothes that had been lying about were now hung up in the closet. He pulled out a t-shirt, boxers, and drawstring sweatpants out of his bureau and dressed. After running a comb through his hair, he left the room and headed to his office.

He really didn't have any calls to make, so he grabbed his sketchpad and settled back onto the sofa. He sketched a number of scenes from that day. Delly rolling out cookie dough, Johanna's smirk when she greeted them, Haymitch mid storytelling, and the joy and relief on Katniss' face when she entered Jo's. Finishing that last sketch, he looked at the time and saw that it must be close to dinner, so he put the sketchpad away and headed down the stairs.

"Oh, good. I was just going to call you," Katniss said as she placed two food-laden plates onto the table. She must have changed while he was in the shower. Her skirt and blouse were gone, replaced by well-worn jeans and one of his threadbare t-shirts. Her nipples were pebbled against the thin fabric making it obvious that she'd chosen to also ditch her bra. Her hair was now worn in a braid.

Peeta took a seat and smiled at her. "It smells good." He examined his plate of citrus glazed salmon, boiled new potatoes, and broccoli. He speared a bit of the salmon and after swallowing said, "It taste good too."

Katniss shrugged and grinned. "I know this is one of your favorites. I'm glad I didn't overcook it this time."

"It's just right," he told her, knowing how sensitive she was with her cooking skills if it involved more than opening a can. The salmon was very good. It flaked perfectly.

"Peeta, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

"Really, are things okay?"

"Katniss, let's enjoy this meal you cooked. Tell me about your meeting with Alma," he dodged.

Her eyes narrowed and she sat silently for a moment, before she let whatever she was thinking of go. "Alma greeted me and it was immediately obvious that the gossip had already reached her ears."

"Really? That was fast."

"It just proves how small Santa Maria is. She met me with a saccharin smile and expressed her full sympathy for my situation. I then had to sit through lunch where she told me how by using moderation in how she managed their holdings she was able to have their most profitable year ever.

Peeta nodded.

"It took everything in me not to point out that the reason they were doing well was because she brought Paylor on as head winemaker and that her moderation or as I would put it, conservatism, is actually holding them back."

"Well, you know how Alma Coin is."

"During the whole conversation you could tell she was just waiting for me to eat crow and ask. I was just about to when you called and saved me." She laughed and reached over to stroke Peeta's arm.

Peeta felt torn between enjoying her touch and feeling as if she touched a nerve. "I then was able to tell her our news. The look on her face when I said thank you for lunch and then got up to leave..."

"I imagine it was priceless."

Katniss nodded in agreement. "She's been one of my biggest naysayers since I took over."

After dinner, they washed the dishes then headed out to the living room. Peeta turned on the news and Katniss snuggled next to him on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder. Peeta was listening intently to a news story about drought conditions in northern California when Katniss got up. A few minutes later she called out, "Peeta can you come up here?"

"I'll be there in a sec," he answered, turning off the TV.

He found her standing in their bedroom. Waiting for him. She crashed into him, winding her hands into his hair and pulling his head down to meet her lips as she stood on tiptoe. Lips melded. He pulled her tightly to him. His tongue touched hers. She still tasted a bit like the pinot grigio they had enjoyed with dinner. She pulled back and stepped away.

Katniss bit her lip and grabbed his hand, leading him to the bed before pushing him down. He sat up as she climbed onto his lap. She rocked her hips against him as she kissed him once more. The friction created by their clothing felt so good as she moved against him. She kissed her way along his jaw, sucking at the hollow below where it met his neck, causing him to moan.

Katniss pulled back and smiled as she looked down on his face continuing to rock against him. Then she said, "I know the last few days of putting up with me have been rough. Now _I_ want to make you feel good."

Hearing her say, "I want" was like a splash of ice water in the face. He put his hands on her hips, moved her off him, and stood. He stalked toward the window and gazed out.

"Peeta?" she asked. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and heard her step up behind him as she wrapped her arms around his chest. "What's wrong?"

Peeta pulled her hands off him and spun around. He marched her backwards until her back hit the wall and her head snapped up to look at him. He looked down and stared intently at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but he put a finger against her lips. He stroked her bottom lip and continued to stare. "This isn't about you and I. This is about us being a 'we'."

He bent forward and brushed her lips before taking her bottom lip between his teeth to tug and gently nip. He crowded her, leaning his body against hers and putting both hands on each side of her arms, boxing her in so she had no place to go, unable to reach her arms around him. He continued his onslaught of her mouth. Darting his tongue inside. Taking in her taste. Sucking her tongue into his.

Katniss pressed her body against him and struggled to move her arms, but he wouldn't let her. He kissed his way from her lips to her neck. He found the spot, the one behind her ear.

"Oh, Peeta." He took her earlobe between his teeth. "Let me touch you," she whispered.

"Not yet," he breathed hotly into her ear. He pulled back and saw her eyes flare before they hooded with desire.

She ceased struggling against him, knowing that she now understood where this was going. He dropped his arms and backed away a bit. He peered down at her as his hands grasped the edge of her t-shirt. He tugged it upwards, forcing her to raise her arms. When the shirt reached her wrists, he wound the material so that they joined over her head. One hand held her arms in place as he ran his other hand slowly down her left arm, into the sensitive area of her underarm, before cupping her small breast. Her nipple pebbled hard against his palm. He squeezed her before rubbing the rough pad of his thumb across her nipple and pinching it between his fingers.

He continued to watch her face as he played with her breast. Katniss' eyes closed, and little gasps escaped every so often, as she focused on the feeling. He leaned down and bit her earlobe once more as he pinched her again, causing a little cry to escape her lips.

"You like this don't you?" he murmured, to which she nodded as she bit her lower lip to stop a cry from escaping when he removed his hand.

Peeta chuckled. "Don't worry. I just don't want the other one to get jealous," he said as he switched which hand held her in place. He squeezed and molded his hand to her right breast, tweaking her nipple. She moved her hips off the wall, seeking him out, but he was careful to keep his distance.

"Peeta, I need you to touch me," she cried.

"But I am."

Her eyes snapped open at his response.

He removed his hand from her breast and helped to lower her arms. He tugged her to the bed and laid her down on her back, laying down beside her and raising her hands above her head again. "Now keep them up there or…"

Peeta didn't finish his sentence. He could tell she understood. He took her face between his hands and kissed her quickly once more before moving away. He needed to watch her. Attention was critical as he snaked on of his hands down her torso first, teasing each breast before gently stroking the small curve of her stomach. Finally, his hand reached the top of her jeans. He stroked the side of her face as his other hand worked the button and zipper of her fly. His hands slip beneath the material to stroke her over her panties, which were already soaked.

"You're so wet."

Katniss answered with a push of her hips against his hand and a moan. He continued to stroke her through the soft cotton, taking advantage of the friction from the material. He studied her face. He listened to her breath. When he heard a hitch in her cry, he pulled his hands away and placed them on either side of her head. He gave her a quick kiss before settling his hand against her belly. They watched each other in silence.

After a few moments, he moved to work her pants down her legs. Once her jeans and panties were removed, she widened her legs so he could move between them. Peeta kissed his way up her calf and inner thigh. He bypassed her center to pay attention to her abdomen before moving to take her left nipple into his mouth. He swirled his tongue against the hardened nub before sucking.

"I want you inside of me," she said with a whimper.

Peeta lifted his head and murmured, "Not yet."

He lay beside her as he had before and moved his hand to her mound. His played with the short crop of curls she maintained, and then glided his fingers down to stroke her along her folds, gathering the fluid that had accumulated. He found her swollen nub and began to circle it. Katniss moved against his hand, her breath beginning to quicken once more. He pulled away and brought two of his slick fingers to her breast. He rubbed her nipple and blew across it before taking it into his mouth to suckle. When he let go, he moved up to brush her lips with a kiss and whispered, "You taste so good."

He returned to her side and his hand trailed its way down her body. This time when his hand found her, he inserted two fingers. He pumped and curled his fingers inside her. He watched her as she moved against his hand. He listened as she moaned and her breath quickened. He moved his thumb to stroke her clit as he continued to pump his fingers.

Katniss cried out, "So close."

Peeta immediately removed his hand from her body. He stroked the side of her face as she panted and her eyes closed.

"So, so close," Katniss whispered.

He kissed the tip of her nose before moving away from her. As she caught her breath and her body calmed, he stripped off his t-shirt, sweat pants, and boxers. Peeta saw that Katniss was watching him with intent eyes as his erection sprang free and he moved toward their bedside table and pulled open a drawer. He pulled out a bottle of lube. Pouring some on his hand, he stroked his length up and down as he watched Katniss lick her lips.

With a smirk, Peeta joined her again on the bed. Spreading her legs wider, he knelt in front of her, picking up each leg to rest them over his shoulders. He grasped her hips and brushed his cock through her folds once, twice, before entering her. He teased her, keeping his thrusts shallow, occasionally pulling out all the way, so he could brush the head against her clit.

"I need more."

"Okay, Katniss."

Relief came over her face at his answer. He thrust deep inside her. He kept a measured pace, pulling almost all the way out before plowing forward once more.

Katniss cried out with need. "Peeta please."

"Yes, Katniss." He picked up the pace. He could feel his own breath speed up and sweat poured off his forehead. "Touch yourself," he panted.

She unwound her hands from her t-shirt and brought her arms down. He watched her as she palmed one breast and stroked her clit with the fingers of her other hand. Peeta heard that hitch in her breath that came with a cry, indicating she was about to fall over the edge. He continued to thrust as she shouted out. He felt a gush of liquid as her walls contracted around him, sending him right over along with her. He pulled out and collapsed beside her. They both worked to catch their breaths.

"I don't know if I can move," Katniss moaned.

Peeta chuckled. "We were amazing."

"Yeah, we were," Katniss admitted with a small smile. Then she got up from the bed and slowly walked to the bathroom.

When she returned, she curled into his side. As she ran her fingers through the light dusting of curls on his chest, she asked, "Peeta, what did you mean earlier?"

"Hmmm?"

"About this not being about you and I, but about us being a 'we'?"

Peeta took a deep breath and released a sigh. He gently pushed her off him so he could sit up against the headboard. Katniss sat up too, the sheet falling away as she faced him. She waited.

"It's about the last few days. They were really tough." He blew out a breath before continuing, "For both of us."

"Peeta, are you really upset with me?" Her voice caught at the last part.

"I love you, Katniss, more than anything. We've been together for a long time. I thought we were partners—in more ways than just in the bedroom."

"But, Peeta, we are partners. I couldn't have survived the last few days without you."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Really? You seemed just fine making decisions on your own."

Katniss tensed, "That's not how it was."

"Katniss, I asked you to wait and not make any decisions without me. Instead of doing that, you arranged for all the wine to be dumped."

"If you had told me what you were going to do, going to see Woof Calvert, maybe I would have waited," she pushed back.

Peeta closed his eyes and focused on his breath. This was becoming too heated and she had a point. He looked at her and admitted, "You're right. I should have told you what I was doing. I was just afraid of getting your hopes up."

"We have to talk to each other. Keepings things secret doesn't help if we are going to work," Katniss whispered.

"Yes, we do. But that also means that you have to stop pushing me away. If we are in this together, you can't say that this is _your_ problem and that this is _your_ vineyard. We have to work together. The last few days you made me feel like I was too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle the problems with you. I may not have a wine degree, but I can still help."

"Oh, Peeta. I'm so sorry I made you feel that way." Katniss reached up and rubbed her eyes.

"I've known you a long time. I know that when things get tough you want to go it alone. But you don't have to."

She moved her hands away from her face. "I love you, Peeta. I know you are here for me and you're right, I can't keep doing that." She sighed before admitting, "The last couple days have taught me a lesson. Going on my own and just reacting would have meant disaster. If I had relied on you more, we never would have come so close. I'm not alone. I have you and Haymitch."

They both fell silent. Peeta had said his piece.

A lone tear trailed down Katniss face as she reached forward and stroked his cheek. "Tell me I haven't screwed us up?"

"No," he assured. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."

She leaned forward and snuggled against him. "I love you. I like the idea of 'we'."

"Me too." He held her for a moment before asking, "Katniss could you move? I need to get up for a moment."

She moved away, leaning against the headboard as he got up from the bed and walked to their closet. He pulled out the shoebox with his dress shoes and removed the velvet-covered box. He strode back to the bed and dropped to one knee as he popped open the box.

"Katniss, I love you. I have for years. I want to work beside you, struggle with you, laugh with you…occasionally argue with you. I want to be part of a 'we' with you. Will you partner with me? Will you be my wife?"

She leaped from the bed and into his arms. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Peeta laughed. "Wasn't it just a little while ago that you couldn't move?"

She smacked him playfully as they stood and crawled back into bed. Peeta took her left hand and slid on the ring.

"Peeta, it's beautiful."

"Like you."

Katniss shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Where did you find this?"

"At an antique dealer in Santa Maria on Tuesday," he said, thinking nothing of it.

Katniss groaned as she leaned over and buried her head in a pillow.


	5. Friday

**Friday**

_Balance: a balanced wine is one whose constituents: sugar,_ _acids,_ _tannins,_ _alcohols, and flavors are evident but do not mask one another._

Peeta pulled into the parking lot of the Fletcher's Point tasting room just before ten in the morning. It had already been a busy day. Katniss had gotten up with him at 4:00 am to help him. It wasn't until he had been preparing the order for Grandin that he realized he still hadn't told her about it. She had chastised him for not telling her and then kissed him soundly in congratulations. At that moment he had wished they could do more, but it was Friday, the beginning of the weekend when they were busiest.

Peeta stepped out of truck and let himself into the building through the backdoor using his keys, as the Tasting Room didn't open for an hour. He was welcomed by the sight of Katniss' backside as she bent over to take a few bottles of wine out of a case. He paused to admire the view. She stood and placed the bottles on a shelf before walking over to him and bussing him on the lips.

"I'm almost done setting up. Can you help me by putting out the trinkets and trash?" she asked.

"Sure thing." He walked to the back supply closet where the local wine maps, touristy cork stoppers and corkscrews, and logoed glasses, t-shirts, and ball caps were stored.

He had just flipped on the light and located the box of logoed gear on the back shelf when he heard the door to the closet shut. He turned to find Katniss giving him a come-hither smile as she crooked her finger.

Peeta didn't need to be asked twice.

Lips clashed, teeth clicked, tongues tangled. When they finally came up for air she asked, "So how did it go?"

"Gloss wasn't there, but I expected that. Cashmere received the samples and she looked pleased. I think I saw her sneaking a couple blue cheese biscuits before Delly and I even left."

As he was answering, Katniss moved around him so that he felt her breasts against his back and her hands on his chest. As one hand began to roam down his abdomen she said, "I think all your hard work deserves a reward." Her hands cupped him and he could feel himself harden. She let go and pushed him to turn around before backing him up against the door.

"I couldn't have done this without you. You helped make this business happen too," Peeta answered right before she stood on tiptoe to meet his lips again.

The continued to kiss as she worked the buttons of his chambray shirt. Once the shirt was pulled loose from his jeans, she spread it open so she could tweak his flat nipples with the edge of her nails. She kissed a trail from his lips to his neck to his chest and then down his abdomen. When she was kneeling in front of him, she looked up and saw him watching her as she worked the belt buckle of his jeans. She cupped him for a moment before popping the button on his fly and unzipping him, freeing him from his boxers. She grinned up at him before spitting in her right hand. Her left hand rested on his hip, holding on.

The overhead light hit the emerald on her ring finger just right causing it to twinkle. He liked seeing the ring on her hand and looked forward to the day he could wear one too. His attention was brought back when he felt her first stroke. He enjoyed the feel of her gentle grasp as she pumped up and down.

He watched as she slowly licked her lips before dipping her head to take the tip of his cock into her mouth. He moaned as he felt the tip of her tongue twirl along his head. She popped him out of her mouth to give him a bright smile before she took him in again. Her head began to bob with gentle suction as she worked the lower half of his shaft with her hand. She was so good at this. She knew just how to touch him.

"Katniss," he whispered to indicate he was close.

She gazed up for a moment before moving to take him even deeper. Soon he was flexing his hips as he took her mouth. He felt the pressure build and his balls tighten. He yelled her name as he came.

Katniss swallowed before withdrawing her mouth and tucking him back into his pants. She stood and he pulled her to him to give her a lazy kiss. "Thank you."

She bit her lip and gave him shy smile. "You're welcome. I better go put out those trinkets and trash." She turned around to get the box of merchandise.

Peeta buttoned his shirt, tucking it into his jeans, making himself presentable once more. He held the door for her before going back to get the second box.

They came out of the back closet into the tasting room to find Haymitch sitting behind the bar. He'd already helped himself to a glass. Peeta felt a blush creep across his face. At least he and Katniss could focus on finishing setup for a few minutes before he had to talk to her uncle.

After setting out the merchandise, when they could not avoid it any longer, they walked to the bar. Peeta busied himself by preparing canapés.

"So, Dough Boy over there finally proposed?" Haymitch asked.

Peeta turned around and saw that he had grabbed Katniss' hand to take a closer look at the ring.

"Count yourself lucky girl, you could live a thousand lifetimes and not deserve—"

Peeta interrupted, "Not true, old man. If anything, I don't deserve her and I count myself lucky every day that she has decided to be my partner. We take care of each other. We protect each other. It's what we do and if you say—"

"Right answer, boy. I wouldn't expect any less from the man worthy of my girl here," agreed Haymitch.

Katniss hugged her uncle before going over to Peeta and tucking herself under his arm. "Uncle, we balance each other out. I'm just lucky to have found him."

Peeta shook his head, "No. This isn't luck. We chose this. Every day we choose to stay. We choose to love each other. Katniss, will you stay with me and love me?"

"Yes. You?"

"Always."

**A/N:**

**Thank you very much Pookieh. You are an amazing beta who turned this fic around incredibly fast. Thanks for putting up with me.**

**The characters are the property of the amazing Suzanne Collins and do not belong to me. I occasionally weave lines from her novels. Those totally belong to Ms. Collins too. A lot of inspiration and a couple lines came from one of my favorite scenes in chapter 5 of Catching Fire where Peeta confronts Katniss and Haymitch in the attic.**

**Inspiration for parts of this story came from the movie Bottleshock, which is about the Napa chardonnay that won the Franco-American wine competition back in 1976. It's great. Go watch it – specifically what happened to the wine and the scene in Jo's.**

**This is prequel to The Tasting Room which was a short one-shot I wrote for PiP last year that drew inspiration from one of my other favorite wine movies, Sideways. It is available on AO3**

**Wine is my hobby but I'm not an expert. Forgive me for any mistakes.**

**If you'd like more information about my fanfiction, please visit my Tumblr: dispatchesfromdistrict7.**


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